Do you believe that it's hard to get an A in all your college level courses? If you truly believe this, then you are going to be surprised! Getting A's in all your courses simply requires that you learn how to study well. Once you master certain systems that are proven to work, you will being to wonder why you ever thought getting A's was hard in the first place.
Now, the topic of studying well is quite an extensive one (and, hardly one that can be covered in one article). If you want more direction, feel free to visit the website listed in the resource below for specific study systems. In this article, I will discuss five very important things you should do when you are studying to maximize your learning. If you implement these five strategies (and do nothing else), you will still notice big improvements.
Here are my top five tips for studying well:
1. Select the best environment
You must make this a top priority. Whether you choose to study in the library, at some remote location on campus or at home, make sure your environment is free of distractions. You don't want the TV running in the background, friends should not be calling and you certainly should not have any music playing. And, your bed does not count as a good place to study. Nor do coffee shops! If you feel the need to get away form your books (and, subsequently choose a coffee shop to find relief), you are more likely in need of a real break than a new study location. So, to recap then: find a good place where you are most comfortable and make it your study place from this day forward!
2. Focus
When you are studying, be it reading a book or completing an assignment or even reviewing for a test, you must commit yourself to being entirely focused upon your work. This means, you must block out nagging thoughts (like, what you're going to do about your credit card bill or what to do about your English paper) and just focus upon your task. If you can't commit to focusing, don't bother sitting down for a study session as you'll simply be wasting your time.
3. Your study session timeline
Refrain from studying for any longer than 2 hours. You see, your brain will put a stop to all incoming information, whether you like it or not. And so, if you plug away for 4 hours straight - without any breaks - you will simply be wasting your time. In fact, you really should plug away for even 2 hours without any breaks, as you'll face the same issue. Ideally, you want to be study for about 20 minutes and take a 5 minute break and then go back on for another 20 minutes and then take another 5 minute break and so on... Or, if it suits you better, study in half hour chunks with 5 minute breaks in between. The key point here is to not bombard your mind with too much information for extended periods. It simply won't work in your favour.
4. Exercise
It may seem that physical activity has very little to do with getting good grades, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The fact is, your mind must be sharp and ready to go at all times; in a nutshell, healthy. Try getting a dull mind to learn and you'll have perfect example of what a challenge is! By exercising, whether it is simply working out or playing some sort of sport or just even walking everyday, you will keep your mind and body looking and feeling healthy and this will translate into better success when you are studying. Try exercising for 14 days, being completely disciplined and diligent and you will see for yourself just how well exercising and studying go together.
5. Know when to NOT study
This is important, however, I don't want you to read this and get the wrong idea. There is a fine line between being responsible and doing all your work and simply blowing off your obligations. The general suggestion is to always make sure you get your work done. That said, there will be times when you are simply just too tired to do any work. Perhaps it will have been a long day, or you're down about something going on your life that you can focus, or maybe you will find yourself craving an extreme escape from school. Whatever it may be, reward yourself during these down times and don't study. By taking the time to rejuvenate, you will return back to your work refreshed and in a better state of mind. Compare that to doing your work anyway (in a down state) and finding yourself even more worn out after the experience. If you manage your time wise (and, I mean wisely), you will be able to afford these small breaks in productivity. Make no mistake, there isn't a whole lot of time available in any given semester so it pays to get all your work done, but you don't have to be a robot to succeed!
It's not hard to study well and get good grades in college. You just need to know what works and apply that knowledge.
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Plants are shaped by cultivation and men by education. .. We are born weak, we need strength; we are born totally unprovided, we need aid; we are born stupid, we need judgment. Everything we do not have at our birth and which we need when we are grown is given us by education.
(Jean Jacques Rousseau, Emile, On Philosophy of Education)
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